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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28351113">Fishnets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/teuklberries/pseuds/teuklberries'>teuklberries</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>K-pop, NCT (Band), NCT 127 - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Caring Doyoung, Cute, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Fantasy, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Mermaids, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, cute relationships, mermaid yuta, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:55:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28351113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/teuklberries/pseuds/teuklberries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Doyoung finds a mermaid, but not in the situation he had ever hoped to, not really. As if he had ever hoped to find a mermaid in the first place?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Sandbank</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>im depression writing again, but i tried to be a little more positive with this one bc its christmas and im trying to go into the new year feeling better than i have this week</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Doyoung had never seen a mermaid before. Not in person, anyway. He had definitely seen them in books, TV, movies, whatever else. But he didn't think they were <em>real</em>.</p><p>But there in front of him, he definitely saw a mermaid. A beautiful mermaid, with hair to his shoulders, and a rough cut patch in his eyebrow as though a scar had healed over and blocked the hair from growing there again. Doyoung saw a beautiful mermaid, which was why it was so heart wrenching to look at the rest of said mermaid who laid on the sand bank, rather than focusing on only his face.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>Around the tanned skin of the mermaids arms and torso was a coarse rope that was coated in seaweed and a few barnacles, some sea snails clung onto the rope in little clusters, various small crustaceans skittered away as Doyoung crouched beside the mermaid and tried to assess the damage he saw before him.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The rope had cut deep into the mermaids skin. Doyoung could see that the mermaids skin had flushed an angry red close to the ropes, likely aggravated by the salt water that gently rolled across the sand and washed over the limp body before him, possibly for several hours, maybe even a whole day.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung knelt down and scanned the body before him up and down, searching for the best place to place his hands without hurting the poor mermaid further. He soon lowered his hands and placed them between stretches of rope, careful to avoid making any direct contact with the clearly aggravated skin. Doyoung pushed gently, attempting to shift the mermaid away from the small waves, trying to minimise the pain the mermaid was likely in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No... Hurts..." A weak voice suddenly whimpered, starling Doyoung. He paused, his hands still carefully holding the smaller males torso.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I... I need to move you, you're in the water, the salt is going to make it hurt even more," Doyoung said in as gentle a voice he could muster. He heard the mermaid whimper again, the rope shifting as he tried to wiggle himself free, albeit weakly. Doyoung removed his hands from the mermaids torso and shuffled carefully across the sand, placing himself somewhere that would allow the mermaid to see his face, hoping that putting a face to his voice would calm the latter a little more.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Its okay, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm going to try and get you out of these ropes okay?" Doyoung spoke gently again, making sure his hands were easily visible to the other at all times. The mermaid below him squirmed again and a few scales fell from his tail as the rope tightened around his body. Doyoung shushed the mermaid, trying his best not to look too intimidating.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Do you have a name? I'll tell you mine first, if you like."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The mermaid stilled, his tail no longer struggling against the ropes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"My name is Doyoung, Kim Doyoung," Doyoung said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yuta..." The weak voice whispered out "Nakamoto..."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Nakamoto Yuta?" Doyoung repeated quietly. "That's Japanese, right?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The mermaid nodded, only slightly, but enough for Doyoung to pick up on. Doyoung's eyebrows raised suddenly, his brain connecting the dots of this situation</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"God... Does that mean you've come all the way from Japan? Stuck in this rope?" Doyoung asked, his expression one of shock. He saw the mermaid, Yuta, shake his head this time, just as weak as before.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Fishermen..." Yuta whimpered "Net... Cut it... With shell... Rolled off..."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung gasped, of course the rope was a fishing net, no other kind of rope would be that thick with that kind of pattern. It was designed to trap things.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"They trapped you in the net so you cut your way out? You tried to roll out? But you got stuck and it went with you?" Doyoung said, still shocked as ever. Yuta nodded again, a quiet whimper slipping through his lips, the rope shifting from the slightest movement.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Let me untangle you, okay? I have a swiss army knife, it wont take long, I promise. I'll be careful," Doyoung asked again. Yuta paused for a second then nodded, too weak to fight back even if he had any protests to offer.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung sighed in relief and set about carefully freeing Yuta from the fishing net, whispering soothing words to Yuta as he did so, his swiss army knife making quick work of the fraying ropes. Eventually Yuta began to wiggle more, he shook strips of the net from his torso, whimpering and whining as his skin was exposed to the salty sea air. Doyoung shushed Yuta when he finally shrieked from the waves hitting his newly exposed skin, the wounds left by the net burning as the salt water splashed across it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Quick... Quick..." Yuta whined, attempting to move his body away from the waters edge, shrieking again when another wave hit his back. Doyoung began sawing faster, partly motivated by Yuta's sharp nails digging into his thighs in desperation as Yuta tried to drag himself across the sand.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's okay, It's okay, one more bit and then I'll move you. Just hold on." Doyoung said as he sawed at the rope, his attention fully focused on the last piece of net that wrapped around Yuta's body. He finally broke through, the net falling from Yuta's waist and thumping against the sand. Doyoung stood up quickly and secured his hands underneath Yuta's arms, using all the strength he had to pull Yuta away from the water before it reached his body again. Once Yuta had been moved Doyoung fell against the sand again, his chest heaving.</p>
  <p>After a minute of silently laying in the sand Yuta spoke up, his voice sounding just a little stronger than before.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Thank you..."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung smiled, his breathing finally calmed down enough that he could speak again.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's okay, I saw you were on the sand bank and I couldn't just keep walking. Even if you weren't a mermaid," Doyoung chuckled, the situation only just setting in fully. "You're a mermaid... Just, on the beach. You're real," Doyoung said in disbelief.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta nodded, his soft hair tickling Doyoung's neck.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I am... You haven't seen one of us before, have you?" He asked, looking up to meet Doyoung's eyes. Doyoung shook his head, his eyes wide.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No... I'll be honest, I thought you were make-believe," Doyoung chuckled nervously. Yuta smiled, of course Doyoung thought that, mermaids are evasive for good reason, that reason being so they aren't hunted to extinction.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Most people do, we stay hidden, I think it's obvious enough why," Yuta sighed, looking sadly at the net that littered the sandbank around the pair. "You can just leave me here, I'll make my way back into the water when I feel stronger."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung gasped and looked between Yuta and the ocean that sat just feet away from them, its waves harsh, full of salt. Salt that would hurt Yuta's open wounds immensely.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No... No, you're injured, the salt will just hurt you more," Doyoung said in a slight panic "Let me bring you to my home. I'll patch you up, you can't go into the ocean in this state."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta paused, considering what Doyoung had said. He was right. The salt would hurt, a lot, but if Doyoung took Yuta to his home he would risk being seen by humans, and the illusion would be up for all mermaids. But... Doyoung was right. Yuta couldn't go back into the ocean in such a state. He was exhausted, hurt, hungry, thirsty, with nowhere near enough energy to hunt for himself.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"How will we get there? What if someone see's us?" Yuta asked, his eyes scanning the beach for signs of anyone else that might see the pair.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's early, if I walk quickly enough I can get you into my car and home without anyone seeing us. Not many people will be around at 4.30 in the morning," Doyoung said. Yuta nodded hesitantly, deciding to trust Doyoung, since he had already proven safe enough by helping Yuta get free from the net rather than taking him and displaying him in some kind of freak show.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Okay, just please be careful, I'm still in a lot of pain." Yuta said with a wince.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'll do my best, but I can't promise a smooth walk," Doyoung said as he scooped Yuta into his arms.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta yelped as his skin brushed against Doyoung's rough jacket, both from the pain and from the unfamiliar feeling of whatever fabric Doyoung was wearing. "Sorry, I know its uncomfortable, but I'm only parked a minute away." Doyoung said between grunts of effort.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The walk took longer than a minute, mostly due to Doyoung carrying someone almost the same weight as him but also due to the fact that they had been forced to drop behind a sand dune to hide from a dog walker, who had thankfully been far enough away to not see the pair.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>After much effort on Doyoung's part and a lot of yelping from Yuta, the pair finally made it to Doyoung's car. Doyoung threw open the door and gently placed Yuta in the back seats, tucking his tail carefully into the footwell to fit Yuta comfortably into the vehicle. Once the back door had been secured Doyoung walked around to the drivers side and sat in his own seat, his body thanking him for the rest after so much labour.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They sat in silence for a minute before Yuta spoke up, his tone curious and a lot stronger than before.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I've never been in a car," He said thoughtfully. Doyoung turned to face Yuta, chuckling when he saw the latters intrigued expression.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"That's not a surprise, generally cars don't run well in water," Doyoung said cheekily. "Now hold on, I'll try to drive careful, but if I have to break suddenly you might make a tumble. We're only 15 minutes from my home."</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The sound of the engine starting up startled Yuta, the vibrations running over his entire body. The car began to move slowly, backwards at first, then forward. The sound of rocks crunching beneath the wheels was also startling to Yuta, who expected the rocks on the ground to burst the tyres, or something on those lines. He could see trees gliding by from his position on the back seat, their leaves blurring into green streaks as the sunrise and the speed distorted his view.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta was nervous, he couldn't pretend he wasn't, not at all. But Doyoung seemed calm. Totally calm, so Yuta laid back and tried to relax, as much as he could with his skin burning, the texture of the car seats not doing much to help the pain. Only 15 minutes, he could do it, he had felt worse before, much worse.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rubber Ducky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Doyoung patches Yuta up and finds him something to eat.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After much struggling and stumbling, Doyoung and Yuta made it up the steps that lead to Doyoung's house. They had stumbled through the door and up the stairs leading to the first floor, side stepped awkwardly down the corridor and finally made it to the bathroom, where Doyoung carefully laid Yuta in the bathtub, neither of the pair being able to think of a better idea.</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>"So are you... uh... cold? or warm water? Does it matter?" Doyoung asked, his tone giving away how unsure he was.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It doesn't matter, but warm would be nice." Yuta chuckled. "What is this thing, by the way?" Yuta gestured to the bath he had been placed in, intrigued by the foreign design.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's a bath, have you never seen one before?" Doyoung raised an eyebrow and reached down to turn on the taps beside Yuta's tail. Yuta startled when the water finally began to flow from the taps, his expression stern, as though he was suspicious of the taps.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No... Your water is coming from that thing."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yes, that's a tap, its meant to come from there. Baths are for cleaning yourself. When you're done cleaning yourself you pull the black thing out and the water empties." Doyoung explained, all while holding back an amused smile. He watched as Yuta studied the bathtub and taps in detail, his eyebrows furrowed in a harsh focus.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Strange..." Yuta mumbled, reaching to submerge his hand in the steady stream of water flowing from the tap. "I like it, I think. I'm not too sure."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung chuckled again and turned off the taps, ceasing the flow of clear water into the halfway full bathtub. He stood up and turned to the cabinet mounted on the wall behind him to begin his search for a first aid kit. After a minute of searching he let out a triumphant 'ha!' and turned back to face Yuta, who had found amusement in the rubber duck Doyoung kept with his bath kit, much to Doyoung's embarrassment.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm going to clean you up a little, okay? Your rope burns will get infected if I don't, and I don't want that." Doyoung said, already rummaging through the kit in his lap. Yuta hummed and nudged the rubber duck with his tail, still highly amused by the toy.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It will hurt, but I have to. I can give you a painkiller when I'm finished to help with the pain."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's okay, you get pretty beat up when you live in the ocean, I can handle it." Yuta said with a smile. Doyoung nodded and extended a hand, gesturing for Yuta to extend his arm over the edge of the bathtub.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Once Yuta had found a comfortable position Doyoung set to work, carefully cleaning the wounds with cool water and removing particularly stubborn rope strings with a pair of eyebrow tweezers. He hesitated whenever Yuta flinched, waiting for signal to continue, not wanting to hurt the mermaid any further. After almost an hour of cleaning and tweezing Doyoung finally leant back and scanned Yuta's body, satisfied with the work he had done.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Does that feel any better?" Doyoung asked, observing Yuta for any signs of discomfort, letting out a breath he hadn't realised he had held when Yuta shook his head.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Much better, thank you..." Yuta whispered, still amused by various bath toys. Doyoung rummaged through the first aid kit again, this time in search of topical aloe, to soothe the residual burning. He popped the cap open and began applying the aloe to Yuta's burns, whispering a gentle 'sorry' whenever Yuta flinched or whined due to the sting.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm almost done... I know it hurts... But its nearly over..." Doyoung said softly as he wrapped the last few loops of bandage round Yuta's shoulders, satisfied with his work.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta stopped playing with the bath toys and looked down at his torso, impressed by Doyoung's work, even if he wasn't quite sure whether Doyoung had used the materials correctly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Thank you, again, it does feel better." Yuta said with a smile. "I don't mean to be rude, but I haven't eaten anything for about a day and my stomach is starting to hurt. Do you have anything I could eat?" He asked.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung's eyes widened suddenly. He hadn't even thought of food, of course Yuta hadn't eaten, he had spent however long tangled in a fishing net. It should have been obvious, really, that he wouldn't be able to hunt like that.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh my god, of course, what do you eat? Seafood?" Doyoung asked, internally facepalming at his slightly dumb question.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta laughed and leant back against the edge of the bath, a sharpened pair of fangs making an appearance from behind his lips as he did so, startling Doyoung a little.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yes, any kind of fish or any crustacean is fine. Seaweed too, if you have any." Yuta replied with a smile. "Any marine plant, actually, provided it isn't poisonous."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung nodded and placed the first aid kit on the floor beside him, rising to his feet quickly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Okay, I definitely have all of that, I wont be long. Just wait here." He said before heading out of the bathroom, leaving a chuckling Yuta behind in the bathtub and pretending his cheeks weren't burning from embarrassment. Of course mermaids eat seafood, duh.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Salmon Fillet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Doyoung cooks up a quick lunch for Yuta, mindlessly doing the things he has for years before, only to be thwarted by the fact that Yuta, is very much, not from the same culture as he is.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>betcha thought this was an abandoned work, huh? jokes on you, i finish things, just sometimes months later. enjoy! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Doyoung had never been a great cook, but fish was simple enough. Even the worst cook could fry up a salmon fillet and make it edible.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>"Do you eat seafood... You fucking dumbass, Doyoung," Doyoung muttered to himself. "Does a mermaid eat seafood... You're a marine biologist, you should have guessed you idiot." </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Its okay, how were you supposed to know? You've never met one of us before," Yuta's voice called out suddenly. Doyoung startled and turned to look at the doorway behind him, where he was met with the sight of Yuta completely naked aside from the bandages Doyoung had just put on his wounds and with... legs. Legs he definitely did not have when Doyoung left the bathroom.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh my god, you-- you're naked, uh, hold on i'll get you some-- I'll find you some clothes," Doyoung stuttered, his cheeks flushing a violent red.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta laughed and stumbled backwards slightly, his hands gripping the doorframe for support.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No, its okay, I don't use clothes. I've never needed to. I'll be fine."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung sputtered out the beginning of a shocked sentence that fizzled out abruptly as soon as Yuta stumbled for a second time, this time hitting the floor with a quiet 'oof'.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh god, are you okay?" Doyoung half yelled, not wanting to startle Yuta. He rushed across the kitchen and reached down to pick Yuta up from his spot on the ground, trying desperately to keep his eyes above chest level for his own sanity, but also for Yuta's decency.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm okay, I'm okay, I just don't use these things often so I'm very out of practice," Yuta chuckled. Doyoung nodded slowly, still not sure how to handle the very naked, very attractive mermaid clinging to him as a support pillar. After a few seconds of embarrassed silence Doyoung spoke up again, although he kept his face pointed away from Yuta to hide the blush that still dusted his cheeks.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm almost done cooking, I'll sit you at the table okay?" </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta grinned and threw an arm over Doyoung's shoulder, making his best attempt to walk alongside Doyoung despite his legs clearly having a different intention. The pair stumbled across the dining room haphazardly until they reached the table, Doyoung pulling out a chair and placing Yuta down to sit carefully on it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Is that okay? Are you comfortable?" Doyoung asked, eyeing Yuta's face cautiously, relaxing considerably when Yuta nodded happily.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm comfortable, thank you. This is all very new to me. We don't really have... tables?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"You just eat with your hands on a rock? Or something?" Doyoung said with a chuckle.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Usually, yes. Sometimes we use shells to scoop things if it isn't easy to eat with our hands," Yuta mused, slightly distracted by the pictures hanging on the walls of Doyoung's house. "You have a lot of those."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Picture frames? Yeah, I guess I do. I like seeing my friends, I guess," Doyoung called from the kitchen. The fish he had prepared for Yuta had finished cooking in the time it had taken to get Yuta stable and sitting at the table, the skin of the salmon burned a tempting golden brown colour. Doyoung quickly slid the fillet onto a plate and grabbed the food he had cooked for himself alongside Yuta's salmon.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Here, I thought salmon would be the baseline choice, most places have salmon and its easy to fry up," Doyoung started. "I would wait a minute or two if I were you, it'll be--"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Ouch!" Yuta cut in, startling Doyoung. "Why is the fish hot?!" He asked, the offending salmon fillet thrown unceremoniously onto the plate in the panic brought on by the unexpected heat. Yuta covered his mouth protectively, having clearly burned himself in his enthusiasm to tuck in.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung sighed, lightly hitting himself on the forehead, things finally clicking into place inside his tired brain.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Of course... You just eat it raw. Don't you. You don't have frying pans," He groaned quietly, once again embarrassed by his slow-to-the-punch brain, his <em>marine biologist brain. </em>"Will this make you sick? I can make another one, if it will, its my fault after all."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta eyed the steaming fillet suspiciously, seemingly inspecting it for anything that might hurt him, before picking it up again and taking a tentative bite. After a few quiet seconds of chewing his eyes appeared to light up and he dove in for another bite, much more enthusiastic this time, chewing quickly and eventually wolfing down the fillet in under a minute, much to Doyoung's surprise.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No, that was very very nice. Thank you. I would like to try more hot fish, if you have more," Yuta said happily, his sharp looking teeth visible once again through a beaming grin directed at Doyoung. Doyoung chuckled and extended his fork to Yuta, a piece of freshly cooked cod poised delicately on the ends of its prongs.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Here, this one is cod. Try it."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Yuta leant forward and closed his lips delicately around the shiny fork, appearing confused for just a second as Doyoung pulled the utensil away, leaving only the warm lump of cod inside his mouth. Yuta began to chew, his expression changing from confusion to delight once again, the new sensations of a cooked fish fillet sending him to a whole other world.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"That is good too. I really really like hot fish. I've never tried it before," Yuta mused, eyeing Doyoung's plate again. Doyoung smiled and extended his fork to Yuta once again, repeating the cycle a few times until he had finished his breakfast and Yuta was finally full after not having eaten for possibly days.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"So, your legs, where were they when I was carrying you 10 minutes from the shoreline to my car?" Doyoung asked, a cheeky smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He began clearing the plates away as Yuta started explaining, something Doyoung tried to pretend was mundane, despite his marine biologist brain absolutely vibrating within his skull at the idea of having a hot, friendly, talkative mermaid directly at his disposal.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Ah, well, it takes a lot of energy to use our legs because they're sort of meant for emergencies, such as being sighted near the shoreline or something of the sort--" Yuta started but was cut off by the sound of Doyoung's front door swinging open and slamming shut, a sound that startled both of the men seated at the table.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Doyoung! I come bearing gifts!" A voice called from the hallway outside the dining room. Doyoung's expression dropped from badly hidden delight to one of obvious fear, his eyes widening considerably.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Shit." He began, "Jaehyun... I forgot about Jaehyun."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Who's Jaehyun?" Yuta asked, looking curiously toward the entrance to the dining room.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I got that cake you really like on the way here, the strawberry one. I thought-- Oh, hello, who-- You're naked." Jaehyun, expecting to only see his good friend Doyoung, stopped abruptly in the doorway, his shocked expression fixed on Yuta's bandaged torso. "Doyoung, there is a naked man at your table."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Doyoung groaned, letting his head fall onto the table with a <b>thump </b>for just a second before picking it up again and gesturing between Jaehyun and Yuta, the latter smiling brightly at Jaehyun, who still looked wholly shocked with the situation.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Jaehyun, this is Yuta. Yuta, this is Jaehyun. He's a friend, he's... my research partner, also," Doyoung explained, his expression still pained.</p>
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  <p>"Hello Yuta, why are you naked in Doyoung's house and why haven't I met you before?" Jaehyun questioned, now staring at Yuta's face rather than his exposed body.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"That's because he--"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm from the sea. I'm a mermaid," Yuta cut Doyoung off quickly, much to the others surprise. "You called him a friend. If you trust him, so do I, you saved me after all," Yuta shrugged, looking between Doyoung and Jaehyun's confused faces.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jaehyun brought his hands to cover his face, sighing deeply for several seconds.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Doyoung, respectfully, what the fuck have you done," he asked painedly, peeking out from between his splayed fingers. Doyoung sighed and pulled the chair out beside him, gesturing for Jaehyun to join them at the table.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Sit, we'll explain everything and then I will feed you. Deal?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Fine... fucking hell, Doyoung," Jaehyun sighed again and allowed his body to fall onto the wooden seat beside his friend, too baffled to do anything other than just obey. "So. Explain, please."</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed</p><p>kofi link: https://ko-fi.com/mars_127</p><p>curcious cat link: https://curiouscat.qa/tyongieberry</p></blockquote></div></div>
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